


He Needs You

by BatmanWhoLaughss



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Episode: s01e03 Droids in Distress, Fluff, Jedi Training (Star Wars), Kanan Jarrus Needs a Hug, Missing Scene, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27618881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatmanWhoLaughss/pseuds/BatmanWhoLaughss
Summary: "Jedi training? Never heard of it.""Hmm. We'll see about that.""Can we discuss this later?""That's fine, love. But we will discuss it."---After the end of Droids in Distress, Hera and Kanan talk about Ezra.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 9
Kudos: 61





	He Needs You

**Author's Note:**

> lil baby fic that I've wanted to write based on these four lines for a while. Hope you like it!

Hera makes her way into Kanan’s cabin, unsurprised to see him still awake. He’s hunched over, his head resting in his hands, and she frowns at him as she steps inside. He seemed happy, earlier, when he gave Ezra that proud smile and told him his Jedi training would start tomorrow. Now, though… now he looks like there’s a ten-kilo weight strapped to his back, and she has a feeling that she knows what’s going on. 

He doesn’t acknowledge her presence as she sits down next to him and rests a hand on his knee. She hadn’t meant to snap at him before, when she said they would discuss Ezra later. She doesn’t want to push him, but she knows better than to let Kanan drive himself crazy. For all his renewed belief in Jedi traditions, he’s still consumed with self-doubt, and it still hurts that she can’t make it go away. 

“Ezra did well today,” Hera says, softly. 

Almost in spite of himself, Kanan smiles, but his head is still resting in his hands. “Yeah… yeah, he did.” There’s apprehension in his tone, though.  _ Too well,  _ his voice says. Hera knows him well enough that she can hear the unspoken message. 

She reaches for his hand. “Talk to me. What’s been eating you?” 

Kanan sighs, glancing up to look her in the eye, and she gives him her best  _ you’re not getting out of this one _ look. “Anyone ever tell you you’re too observant for your own good?”

Hera chuckles. “You have, love. Many times. C’mon, out with it.”

“Too persistent, too...” Kanan mutters. But then he sighs again as Hera’s hand squeezes his, and his face changes. “I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m not sure about the kid.” 

Hera shakes her head. “That’s not it,” she says, softly. She reaches up to pull the tie from his hair. “If you weren’t sure about Ezra, you wouldn’t have tested him. You wouldn’t have let him join up.” Her hand starts carding through his hair, and she can see his eyes slide shut. He’s always found the motion calming, relaxing. “This isn’t about Ezra,” Hera prods.

Kanan’s head droops. “Fine… it’s not about Ezra. It’s about me.”

_ There it is. _ “Talk to me, love.”

“I spent so long running from the Jedi, from the Force,” Kanan mumbles. “I don’t know what I can teach him. If I can teach him.” His shoulders are hunched over again, like the weight on his back has gotten bigger. “And if I  _ do _ teach him? What happens then? He has a target plastered to his back the same as me.”

“He needs you, Kanan. You’re the only one he has.  _ We’re _ the only ones he has.” Hera knows that as surely as she knows the sun will rise over Lothal tomorrow morning. Ezra may have some… adjusting to do, as the Ghost’s newest member, but she can already see how much Kanan cares about him, and how much the boy admires Kanan in return. “And he already looks up to you.”

Kanan lets out a bitter laugh. “He shouldn’t,” He says, darkly. “I’m… I’m barely a Jedi. I only had 6 months of real training. I broke so much of the code after the Jedi fell that I’m not sure I even remember it all.”

Hera’s patient, her hand moving from his hair to rub his back in small circular motions. This next bit isn’t going to be easy for Kanan to hear, but he needs to hear it. “You know better than anyone how hard it is to be alone. He needs someone to guide him, and you can teach him more than you think you can.” Hera leans over to press a kiss against his cheek.

“And if I screw it up? What happens then?” The fear and doubt are naked in his voice, as he turns his head to look at her with wide eyes. 

“I know you won’t. You care about Ezra–you’ll do right by him in the end.”  _ I know you will. _

Kanan’s arm winds around her waist, as his head leans over to rest against hers. “You have too much faith in me,” he says. There’s a sad, somber edge to his voice, and it pulls right at her heart.

“And you have too little.” Hera pours all of her conviction into the statement, and from the way he blushes, she knows he can feel it. Because he  _ does _ . He always has. He’s always so willing to care about others, willing to trust the rest of the team with his life, but he never extends the same compassion to himself. 

She kisses him lightly. “Just take it one day at a time, love. Aren’t you always saying that the Force has a way of working things out, in the end?” 

Kanan laughs, nodding slightly as he pulls her closer. From the way his eyes are shining when he gives her a small smile, she thinks he might finally be starting to listen to her.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Twitter if you wanna keep in touch! @targaryenjedii


End file.
